Confronting the Student Loan Debt Crisis

In today’s podcast, I’m talking to author and financial literacy expert, Adam Carroll, about his latest project, Broke, Busted, & Disgusted. This documentary is about the growing problem of student loan debt and how it is impacting our country.

As a financial planner working with predominantly Gen X/Y clients, I have a front row seat to just how bad student loan burdens are and how they impact our ability to achieve our financial goals. I am glad that Adam created this documentary to shed light on this problem and I hope that it brings about change that so many people desperately need.

Do you have student loan debt? How long do you think it will take you to pay it off?

Shannon is a financial planner who left a “traditional” financial services firm to start her own company, The Financial Gym, because she felt traditional financial services firms did not have the tools or resources to help people in their 20s and 30s who are starting out and trying to build assets while also managing debt. She realized that the key to long-term personal financial success is a commitment to financial fitness and making smart financial choices.
Through her blog, Financially Blonde, her book, Train Your Way To Financial Fitness, her podcast, Martinis and Your Money and The Financial Gym, Shannon is committed to making financial fitness fun, easy and accessible for everyone.

I interviewed Adam for an article I wrote on student loan debt. It’s pretty crazy when you think about how our kids are practically set up to fail or borrow enormous sums of money from day one! I hope to help my kids avoid that situation at all costs!

Good ‘cast. I’m a little more agnostic on student debt. Rates are higher for some but still hard to beat the income and financial freedom you get with the ‘ticket punch’ you get from a diploma. There’s the non-monetary benefit of having more job prospects.

Home made hard lemonade when I listened. When I was a HS counselor I promoted student loans (boy was I dumb), saying “If you’ll finance a care that will lose value, why not finance a degree that can make money.” I learned. Now, although retired, I preach, “Stay away from loans!” Debt Free Degrees are where it’s at.